Why I believe in magic

26 July 2010 -- For three or four months now I have been riding a ten-mile loop around Tempe one or two times a day (more two times than one). This loop mostly keeps me on streets with bicycle lanes. One part of the loop goes along Rio Salado Drive – a less busy street – where two scrub Palo Verde trees have been inexorably growing into the bike lane. Another part goes along College Avenue where a more mature Palo Verde has grown above the fence around its yard and down into the bike lane. For many days as I passed each spot I thought about city maintenance. Last Saturday as I swerved around the branches on Rio Salado and a car passed me at the same time, I resolved to call the city to have the branches cut back and mused how I would describe their location. Mind you I the branches on College Ave were not part of this musing. As I thought I would have to call on Monday, after I got home I forgot to call, hence Sunday and Monday went by without me doing anything – but on Monday I resolved to call without hesitation – and forgot again. On Tuesday the branches were gone, so as I later passed the tree on College I resolved to call about them too – and forgot again. Nevertheless on Wednesday those branches were gone. As an empiricist I see three possible explanations. First, Tempe recently had some kind of wireless broadband network installed in town. That band must broad enough to read thoughts, especially thoughts held with a great deal of conviction, and someone in city maintenance monitors that band frequency. Second, I have mental powers and am directly linked to someone in city maintenance with the authority to get things right. I like this explanation: it confirms my view of my importance. Third, even in fiscally challenging times, my city manages to work effectively to keep my quality of life high. I like this explanation too because there’s not a liberal in sight yet we still manage to take care of ourselves.

Thought for the day: This magic is ineffectual in Indian casinos where the laws of probability rule.